[I know I haven’t been posting a lot of recipes lately…travelling around so much does that to you. So here’s a great recipe for vegetarian/vegan kimchi from the forums, by Stephanie.! - maki]

I recently started making my own kimchi, because I was having trouble finding one that was fish free and without a ton of additives. It is super easy and easily customizable. I really like having something a little crunchy, spicy, and salty to go along with my lunch.

Make sure that everything is sterilized (bowl, hands, and jars). Mix ingredients in a large bowl, squeezing the vegetables as you go. Eventually there will be a fair amount of juice in the bowl from the vegetables. Pack the vegetables in mason jars, making sure there are not any air bubbles and leaving about a 1/2 inch from the top. Pour the remaining juice over the vegetables making sure they stay submerged in the juice and loosely screw on the lids. Set them aside for about 3 days, check by taste to see if you want to ferment the vegetables any more. If they are to your liking, seal completely and store in the fridge.

This made about 4 pint sized mason jars full of kimchi. You can change up the vegetables depending on what you have on hand (I have made it without daikon, with carrots and cucumbers).

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Thank you for the vegetarian recipe.
I had to look up 'mason jar' but see it's a big glass jar - I also assume by red pepper you mean chili, and as you've posted 1 and a half tablespoons, my guess is that you are using chili flakes, or is it powder? And is there any chili in particular you'd suggest for this?

I wanted to make a batch of kimchi as I now have a garden and the winter is a perfect time, but my wrist problem made it too difficult. I'm still having to buy it ready made. But I will absolutely swear by the stuff! I got a cold on Saturday and started to each huge quantities of kimchi in an effort to counteract it. It's Tuesday afternoon and my cold has practically gone. Coincidence? Perhaps. And it helps that I love kimchi. But I truly believe that kimchi is the perfect remedy for colds and coughs and miserable weather.

I have seen flakes and ground pepper used, I used ground this time. I buy red pepper (cayenne) in bulk and it works nicely. During the summer when I am able to grow my own peppers I was planning on experimenting with different varieties, so we will see if I come up with anything tastier than plain old red pepper.

Sorry about the wrist problem, maybe you can get your husband to squeeze the vegetables for you? It really takes no more than 5 minutes before it is ready to put into the jars.

And I completely agree with using kimchi as a health remedy, I cannot think of anything healthier than spicy fermented vegetables. Whenever I am feeling under the weather I put some on top of soup, something about the soup and kimchi is just comforting.

Thanks for sharing the recipe. I'm also a kimchi fan, but I just buy them at the market. I'd love to try homemade version w/o MSG and preservatives. How long do they keep for? This recipe seems like a big batch (for me.)

This should last about as long as refrigerated store bought kimchi, but when I have this on hand I will tend to eat a pint a week. And this batch really isn't all that big, it only made 4 pints, so really this will last me about a month.

Hey~
Recipe seems simple enough :)
Just a note... I'm Korean and haven't made it myself before but have watched my mom/grandma make it quite often when I was younger. You should salt the cabbage before you season/jar it (kind of like a dry brine... put a bunch of coarse sea salt everywhere in between all the leaves of cabbage). I'm actually not sure exactly what it does, but I'd image it has (1) a preservative effect, (2) make the kimchi much crunchier. I've never seen it made without this process.

Also, for the pepper, most asian grocery stores have Korean red pepper which tastes quite different from the kinds that are made in the US. I'm not sure what the name of the pepper is, but the coarsly ground stuff is what my mom always used.

I <3 Kimchi... I think when I run out I'll try making it myself. Mmmm.

Traditional kimchee comes in hundreds of different varieties of ingredients and vegetables and 5 major regional "dialects?"

The style of Kimchee from Gyeongsang-do in the SE of Korea is known for Salty AND Spicy. Hwanghae-do in the middle make typically Milder varieties such as Pumpkin Kimchee. Chungcheong-do has the largest styles of Kimchee.

In Pusan where I'm from, and to a certain extent, in Seoul, the capitol, Kimchee is more Sweet And Spicy. Chungcheong-do style is popular.

In Gangwon-do province in South Korea, they don't use fish much at all.
Chungcheong-do also doesn't use fish, instead they use salt and fermentation.

Also, because everyone tastes spices differently and some can handle hot spicy much less better, my mother used to make several varieties of Kimchee of the same style. For example, she knows I love Kimchee and will eat about 4 large jars in a week. So she made Kimchee that was soooo intensely salty that you could only eat one small leaf per meal. This was to dissuade the "Kimchee Thief", which was I/me.

Whereas, when she made Kimchee for my paternal grandfather, she made it extra sweet and spicy to honor my clan leader.

Anyway, Kimchee is a very serious art and science. One could devote whole life to just the different varieties of Kimchee and become a sage of Kimchee and be honored in my land.

Thank you for your thoughtful question.

Tab wrote:

Is kimchi supposed to be very salty and spicy or just spicy? I'm just thinking about finding the balance if I try to make it and use lots of salt between the layers as Rosa suggested.

you salt it ahead of time, let it drip, then rinse a few times. The salt draws out some of the water and opens the cells to start the fermentation process better. The end result does not need to be any saltier.

Salting every leaf is a different technique than I used, I believe that you store the cabbage whole instead of chopping it before fermentation/storage (at least from my experience). And both work the same way, since both ways increase the osmotic pressure and cause the cell wall to rupture.

But since my main concern is making a healthy, easier version, I went with the technique which I learned from making sauerkraut. I was able to use less salt and preservatives with the same results, plus it only took me about 5 minutes once I chopped everything up versus having to wait an hour or more once you put the salt on.

And you can really use this to ferment any combination of vegetable that you like, cabbage or no cabbage.

Great veggie version recipe. Homemade is always better than store bought. Chinese wife and I make our own kimchi and preserved vegetables. We live in rural Nebraska & they don't sell kimchi in the IGA. I can't see paying $5 for a pint of kimchi in those big city supermarkets. Kimchi is so easy to make.

My recommendations - use coarse sea salt or rock salt instead of iodized salt. Soak in salt water overnight then drain before packing the jars.

For a richer flavor use powder New Mexico or Korean red chile, not flakes. In a pinch I'll substitute drained chile garlic sauce (aka rooster sauce). I'm a really chile head and I've used flakes before but I like the balance of flavors in kimchi and I prefer powder. Flakes give 'hot' flavor spikes. Flakes might work well if with a milder variety of chile but you won't find mild chile in my house. I like to add a couple of thick, peeled slices of fresh ginger to each jar, too.

For alternative vegetables I suggest using bok choi, kohlrabi, 'beautiful heart' radish, mustard greens and other varieties of Chinese cabbage. I grow a variety called Qingdao Express and Napa cabbage. The two go well together. Most leafy cruciferous vegetables will work. Baby bok choi cut in halves or quartered, bigger bok choi can be chopped up in big chunks.

Chinese wife likes the fish flavor so I'll often put a slice of dried fish or shrimp at the top of the jar for seasoning during the fermentation stage. It gets tossed or fed to the dog when the kimchi goes into the fridge.

Kimchi (aka Korean viagra) with a little left over rice is great for breakfast or lunch. Easy to make. Hard to fail.

That's good. Kimchi is a fermented food, the bubbles show that it's fermenting. That's why you leave it for some days before eating it, it gives the bacteria a chance to do their thing. Although we make a big fuss about sterilising things these days it's not really necessary - people were making kimchi for centuries before bacteria and sterilisation were discovered, and in quite unsanitary conditions a lot of the time. The same goes for cheese and salamis and other old preserved foods. The fermentation prevents bad bacteria from growing, that's how it preserves the food.

Hi. It's refreshing to see keen interest on how to make kimchi! I've made kimchi a few times in the past (most recently just a few days ago) and I have a few comments:

1) CO2 bubbles are expected in the fermentation process, which is why it is important to ensure the jar lid isn't completely airtight in the beginning.
2) Fermentation (and, hence, sourness) occurs more quickly if the temperature of the mason jars is warm. So remember to check the taste of your kimchi often, especially if you have a warm house!
3) Kimchi comes in different flavours and forms, but, in my experience, it is usually salty. You can add as much salt as you desire. I actually had to add salt to my batch AFTER it was fully fermented. You should probably taste the pepper/daikon mixture before you add it to the cabbage; with experience, you'll know how much salt you need in the mixture.
4) I also salt my napa cabbage before I add the pepper/daikon mixture. My mom tells me to let it sit for at least an hour or two in salt, until the cabbage wilts and water leaves the cabbage. I believe this is to make the kimchi crunchier, as mentioned in a previous post.
5) Stephanie's recipe provides the backbone on how to make kimchi. Feel free to experiment with other ingredients. I personally add a tablespoon of grated ginger, 1 grated pear (instead of lemon juice), and a couple tablespoons of fish sauce (the salty, fermented fish extract that is prevalent in Vietnamese/Thai dishes). You can also add fresh oyster or salted small shrimp (available in Asian markets), grated apple, cucumber, or carrots. I suppose you can really change things up by adding non-Korean ingredients such as coriander, coriander seed, dill weed, or parsley. If you want a citrusy version, perhaps adding lemon peel is also possible.
6) Finally, for those of you who really like crunchy pickles, you can add some cubed daikon to the bottom of the jar to make Korean Kkak-doo-gee (spicy, pickled daikon) at the same time!

Good luck with it! Making Kimchi isn't very hard; it just takes a bit of time to do.

Just a little chemistry knowledge for folks in regards to the salt and bubbles. Kimchi, pickles, and sauerkraut are all fermented products thanks to forms of bacteria that happen to like salty environments. They mostly belong to the family of lactobacilli- similar to those you find in live culture yogurts, and why they are actually good for the old digestion. As they multiply in the salt solution, they produce carbon dioxide, lactic acid, and a tad bit of alcohol, eliminate the oxygen, and so control the "bad" gerbies. It also helps lower the pH of the product, which further helps avoid spoilage. If you do not have enough salt in your kimchi, you will not have a large enough population of the good gerbies to crowd out the bad, and your kimchi will spoil. The reason kimchi gets sour after a while is due to those good bacteria lowering the pH and producing lactic acid. We humans interpret acid as a sour taste. The more lactic acid, the more sour your kimchi will taste. Eventually of course, all kimchi gets sour. But you can help extend the life by controlling temperature. If you do those first few days of fermentation at room temperature, and then store it in the coldest part of the refrigerator, you can slow the fermentation down a lot. If you really want a sweeter kimchi, ferment it in the frig in a warmer spot there- like the door. But whatever you do, you really shouldn't reduce the amount of salt total. If you prefer a sweeter kimchi, you can do that by adding either asian pear, an unripe regular pear or even shredded apple.

I am currently living in Seoul, getting lessons in kimchi making of all sorts from Korean friends. We made a ton of it last fall, all kinds and not just cabbage. The family favorite sort is made of a split head of napa cabbage, each half semi-split, and then all the goodies are packed between the leaves. We also like a kind called "water kimchi" or white kimchi, which is good for folks who don't much care for the red pepper. You control the heat by controlling the amount of red pepper you add in. In my house, we make "gringo" kimchi, and then provide additional pepper or hot sauce for those preferring more heat. It also helps to use coarse grind pepper, rather than powdery stuff when you want to control heat. The coarse stuff doesn't perfuse heat quite as readily. And to reduce the salty factor, you can rinse kimchi before serving as well, or pour off some of the liquid it produces and replace it with plain water. That just cuts storage time.

this question might sound totally retarded; my grandmother in WV use to make kraut and went by the "signs" of the farmers alamac...since this is sorta like kraut, is there any time of the month/season that this won't ferment correctly?
I assume the "signs" were parts of the human body-she wouldn't make any canned items in the bowel or feet sign, nor would she allow my mother to help if she was on her period. I know it sounds strange, but my mom had tried to make a batch of pickled corn in the "wrong sign" and it turned out slimy and horrible.

That's a good question...I think that most kimchi is made when napa cabbage is cheap and in season, which is in the winter months. It may over-ferment if the weather is too warm. On the other hand, people in the past didnt have handy things like refrigerators, so...in this modern age we can probably deal with temp. changes and things better.

I noticed some comments about salting the cabbage. Usually, nappa is salted and soaked before use in many recipes because cabbage contains a lot of water and the salt helps draw out that water. You'll be able to squeeze out more liquid later if you salt and soak your cabbage before hand.

Before reading your recipe, I've never heard of kimchi before, and was curious if you'd answer a few questions I had on it :)

I'd looked up some info on kimchi and kinda confused. So far, I've seen liquidy kimchi, and just veggie chuncked kimchi. Is kimchi supposed to be a liquid kinda meal, or more like a salad?
Also, I'm wandering how you should eat kimchi XD, cold, hot, on rice, one soup, alone? So confused lol

Good question. Actually there are several varieties of kimchi, one kind is actually called "water kimchi" and it's a lot more liquid than other sorts. With the typical napa cabbage kimchi you don't usually have so much liquid, most of it is liquid that the cabbage gives off due to the salt pulling it out. You can simply take the kimchi out with a slotted spoon and let the excess drain off. With water kimchi, you actually spoon out the liquid to sort of drink along with the meal like soup. My Korean friends make kimchi rice and kimchi soup both, and both use the liquid and solids. As far as the temperature it's eaten at, it's usually eaten at room temperature. That makes it ideal to pack for lunches. You eat it alone if you like, some of them do. Most often it's a side dish, banchan (English murdering of the korean word). You eat it along with the rice and main dishes to suit yourself. When I get to the bottom of the kimchi container, rather than toss the liquid I will toss it into rice, soup, chili, and even the spaghetti sauce. Of course you have to take into account that it will be salty and spicy- and adjust accordingly. DH likes to spoon it onto noodles and rice both, and will dip his kimbap (rice roll) into the liquid to soak up the last drops. There really isn't a right or wrong way to eat it, I think. Cold from the fridge leaves the flavor a bit dull, but that pepper still comes through. And the Korean's recycle the sour kimchi in a special soup, waste not want not style. So good luck on the recipe. And you can adjust it to include whatever veggies you happen to like as well. Try it with cucumbers, seeded if needed, turnips, green onions, or daikon as well.

I eat Kimchi on or in just about anything and even by itself. I love it on or with rice, soup, noodles, salads, and in burritos (trust me on this one, the Korean-Mexican fusion works really well). When I pack a bento and I feel like it missing something, I will add a silicone cup of it for a little extra crunch and a different flavor. Basically I have found there really is not a bad way to eat kimchi, I generally don't cook it because I want to preserve the good bacteria but other than that have at it.

YUM! I can't wait to try this, I loooove kimchi. What a great thread, and thanks in particular to Raven Lee - that was so interesting!
Confession: had to google napa cabbage. Totally clueless when it comes to cabbage varieties! All I knew was "normal" and "purple" ha!

I just used this recipe to use up a huge potful of mustard greens I'd collected. I won't know the true taste until after it ferments, of course, but I did taste some that had fallen out, and it was yummy; massaging drew out a lot of the bitterness in the greens, leaving enough to give a nice kick with the spices. Thanks for such a great, quick, delicious recipe!

There are actually recipes for kimchi that will call for soy sauce, so you haven't done anything detrimental to yours. There are also some types of double fermented soy sauce on the market as well, so obviously soy sauce doesn't suffer from that process either. I think the second fermentation simply concentrates the flavors more. I've never made kimchi with either fish sauce or soy sauce, but assume the reason for the fish sauce would be flavoring. My recipe calls for tiny dried shrimp, and those are a flavor agent- not necessary, but sure make the final product taste good. The iodized salt isn't a problem either. Regular old sea salt contains trace amounts, at the very least. The iodine can inhibit fermentation, and it can also give you a slightly bitter taste in some things- like pickles, as well as leave them a bit on the slimy side- but it shouldn't stop the process entirely. As far as the bubbles, the appearance of those will also depend on where you are storing your kimchi while the process goes on. The lower the temperature, the slower the fermentation rate. The higher the temperature, the faster it happens. Of course, higher temperatures will also get you a more sour product in the end, since those bacteria are also producing lactic acid as a by-product as well as the carbon dioxide that makes the bubbles. At any rate, while this batch might not taste as good as you'd like, it will still be safe to eat. The amount of salt you use will pretty much promise no harmful bacteria can't live in it either. I usually keep kosher salt in the kitchen for cooking purposes, and iodized salt for the table- although the table version is actually a blend of regular salt and a substitute. That is so I don't make this same mistake. But don't feel bad or beat yourself up over this. For what it's worth, I've done the same thing- which is how I know the answer.

I'm a kimchi-aholic, so I had to learn to make it myself. I've been doing it for a couple of years now and have a few suggestions:

The chili powder to use (if you want to follow the Korean style) looks a lot like red "folger's crystals" instant coffee - I have a 500g bag right here that I bought from a local Korean market for USD 6.00. I can't tell you the brand because it is in Korean, but there is a website in English on the back of the package: www.okgochu.com and it does say "Lim-Ga-Ne Red pepper powder" (though it is actually little flakes, not powder).
I've found that adding some Korean Radish to the Kimchi really makes it taste better - I read somewhere that the cabbage has one kind of amylo-something and the radish has a complimentary amylo-something, but it really does improve the taste of the kimchi.
Another hint, particularly if you are making vegetarian kimchi, is to add a few pieces of konbu - since you aren't including the umame-element of fish sauce/salted shrimp/oysters/whatever, it would probably improve the flavor to add a vegetable source of umame.
I also add green onion to my kimchi, as well as lots of garlic and also ginger. The green onion adds flavor of course, but it also relieves the monotony of the kimchi a bit with stripes of dark green. Finally I'd also recommend the website www.maangchi.com for some great, fun kimchi recipes, available in text form or short video tutorials- my second favorite site after Makiko's.
All the best!

I'm not an expert at kimchi, but I'm pretty sure that the liquid is a normal part of the fermentation. It is from the vegetables, and the salt draws it out of them. The bacteria which ferment the kimchi then breed in the liquid, making it acidic, which preserves the vegetables in it.

I tried and couldn't find a recipe for Kimchi so I invented my own-and left the salt on which ruined it. Then I did this: Using one head of Nappa cabbage, I tore it into pieces about 3 inches square.(75mm). I then washed them well and sprinkled about a small handful of Kosher salt(no additives, large flakes). After about 1.5-2 hours in a colander(sieve) I rinsed them, but not thoroughly. I then packed the leaves into a 1 quart(1 liter) jar, with FRESHLY BOUGHT powdered garlic and/or garlic bulbs, minced well. Then another layer or two of leaves, then a little more garlic, until the jar was full. If the liquid doesn't cover the cabbage I add some water to cover, and leave on the kitchen counter for three days, then eat it! It goes quick!! If you add red pepper to taste it is fine, or Daikon radish, carrots, onions or ??? Kimchi is Korean for pickle-so anything pickled is Kimchi! If I have the cabbage around a day or two I find it is less yummy-get it in the jar soon after purchase. Also, old garlic powder or jars of minced garlic have always turned rancid too soon; I never use these!

I'm sure you could, but you'd need to crush it somehow so the flavour molecules can get out of the chili and into the kimchi. Also, the flavour may be concentrated in just one bit of your kimchi unless you chop the chili up and distribute it evenly around.

For people who may have arthritis or wrist problems, I've seen Kimchi made solely in the food processor. Cut your vegetables using the slicing or shredding blade. Then take some of the processed vegetables, add water, and puree them. Pour the puree over the rest of the vegetables and mix. I also use an Oxo Good Grips potato masher, which works like a dream with little hand strength.

As for the amount of salt in your recipe (2 TBSP), I agree. I just made some with 3 TBSP per gallon, and it was a little too salty.